seeds Will this germinatino box be too hot?

[misterbrownstone06]

I really have nowhere to give these seeds enough heat to germinate except from the lamp in my room. i have to give them constant heat so i usually end up sleeping with the lights on. this has been killing me little by little as the days go by. anyways, so i decided to make a box to eliminate the problem. the only thing, is that i feel it might be too hot inside the box. i have two 60watt bulbs inside the box. how much heat does a lightbulb of this wattage produce? and will it hurt the seeds? should i poke more holes around the box?

 

[EatingOutFresno]

Your best bet is to get a thermometer and check the temp of your soil. You can get a little cheapy meat therm for about $5 or a decent digital for about $15. Your goal temp being around 84 degrees. If it's staying too warm, use a small fan to augment the airflow the holes provide. Or you can get this badboy thermostat and simply hook it up to your light and put the thermostat probe in your soil. Voila! It'll flip your light on and off to maintain the optimal temp.

 

[HawaiiAl]

heat ,light power, do not mix with card board, one problem and up in flames

 

[menotume]

Seeds don't need light to germinate (until they sprout), you could reduce the wattage.

 

[willard3]

The only opinion you need is that of a thermometer.

 

[thaichillihead]

During this time of year, I've never needed supplemental heat to germinate seeds. I usually use a warm room in the house like the garage. You could also leave them outside in a protected area with partial sun. The temps don't have to be constant when germinating in June. The florida heat is more than enough.

 

[Jetchuka]

Going to agree with Thaichillihead, put your seeds in the warmest room of your house. And if that's still not warm enough for your tastes then put them on a shelf closer to the ceiling where it'll be a few degrees warmer. A thermometer will help here.

I've seen and heard of fires starting in unexpected ways, i know i wouldn't enclose two incandescent bulbs within cardboard.

Edit: Or you can use the oven trick. Throw your seedlings into the oven, leave the oven off but turn the oven lightbulb on. Should get you into the 80's that way. Once again a thermometer would come in handy.